"The name FedEx Office more accurately represents our broader role of providing superior information and services,'' Brian Philips, the unit's chief executive officer, said in the statement. "We are a back office for small businesses and a branch office for medium to large businesses and mobile professionals.''

FedEx to rename Kinko's [Bloomberg via Kottke]
(Photo: cmorran123 )

From Starbucks Gossip:

There seems to be confusion about this at some stores. Since I've been charged for refills all this week, I figured the free-refill policy hadn't kicked in. Then this morning, I checked the Starbucks website, which had this message: "Brewed Coffee Refills at No Charge." I showed this to a barista who had me pay for the refill, and she was taken aback — it was news to her. Are stores not telling employees about this new perk?

Registered Starbucks card users now get free brewed-coffee refills — right? [Starbucks Gossip]

Here are the elite few that appear to be winners, although only free wifi has been confirmed:

• Under Review: Offer customers a free drink, after purchasing a set number of drinks. Similar to a punch card system or by tracking it thru their Starbucks Card.

• Free WiFi: Coming in the Spring.

• Under Review: "The difference between Venti and Grande should not just be MILK. I never understand why extra milk is the only difference between Vanti and grande drinks. It is expected that there should be an extra shot!!!!!! Most of people don't even know this "secret"."

• Under Review: Healthier high protein breakfast.

• Under Review: Stickers to cover lid openings

Happy?

MyStarbucksIdea

Starbucks, the world's largest chain of coffee shops, also said today it would acquire Coffee Equipment Co., the maker of the $11,000 Clover machines that brew one cup of coffee at a time. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

``You have an economy that really is in a tailspin, and many would say the consumer is in a recession,'' Schultz told more than 6,000 shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Seattle. ``We are dealing with things that we haven't seen before in terms of how people are responding to how tough it is.''

Customers will be able to get free syrup or milk alternatives for their drinks, or free refills on brewed coffee, if they use their Starbucks card.

``Register your card and we will customize your beverage basically for free,'' Schultz said.

Starbucks Chief Doesn't See U.S. Economy Improving (Update2) [Bloomberg]
(Photo:Ben Popken)

How important is customer service now at Sprint Nextel? The most important economic driver is churn. Customer service plays such an enormous role in maximizing the customer life. It was very apparent it was the most singular issue. It was very apparent that job one was to improve customer service and reduce churn.

How long will it take to turnaround?
We are beginning to improve customer service already. There's always a perception lag. We did have problems last summer. There will be a lag when it improves and when the world knows that Sprint's customer service has improved. First call resolution and average speed of answer are measured. That's improving right now.

How hard is it going to be?
The customer experience is much more than customer service. It's retail. Network quality, ease of use of phone. Experience with care reps. There are a lot of things we are focusing on to improve customer service. You will see progress and regular progress. It is very doable. We have the right people in place. We will get it done. I am holding an all-employee Webcast to talk about this tomorrow.

Customer service is job one. This is the number one priority of the company.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse Speaks About Customer Service [Creative Capital]
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

From AT&T:

The company plans to phase out both public pay phones and phones provided under contracts at government correctional facilities through the end of next year. All customers will receive advance notification of specific plans as well as information on other potential providers and product options.

The move affects AT&T pay phones in the company's traditional 13-state service area only. BellSouth Corp., which was acquired by AT&T Inc. in late 2006, had previously exited the pay phone business in its nine-state service area. AT&T's wholesale pay phone services are not affected.

Public Communications will honor all existing customer contract terms and conditions while continuing to provide excellent customer service throughout the withdrawal process.

"This is the right time for us to take this step on behalf of our customers, employees and stockholders," said David Huntley, senior vice president for Customer Information Services. "We expect that independent providers will pick up much of this business, and, as we exit the business, we will be able to refocus our resources to areas that offer stronger growth potential and greater opportunity for the company."

AT&T Announces Intention to Withdraw from Pay Phone Business by End of 2008 [AT&T] (Thanks,Josh!)
AT&T to Disconnect Pay-Phone Business After 129 Years (Update1) [Bloomberg]
(Photo:Pittsinger)

From their press release:

Beginning Monday, Nov. 12, as part of the company's pledge to enhance the overall customer experience, customers will have even more flexibility by being able to change their rate plans without having to renew their contracts.

Plus during 2008, Sprint plans to implement a new prorated early termination fee (ETF) policy. More specific launch information and details of that policy will be announced next year.

Sprint Announces New Programs to Deliver Better Customer Experience (Press Release) [Sprint]
(Photo:Alan Light)

Good news for all the readers who've been complaining about the general lack of XP availability. Though we were unable to copies conjure XP out of thin air, it does seem that rumble from the XP faithful is getting louder.
From Ars:

In many ways, the success of Windows XP is also working against Microsoft. At this point, Windows XP SP2 is a very stable OS with known security strengths and weaknesses. In comparison, Vista is still an unknown quantity in some enterprise settings. Windows XP will also run well on older hardware. Myths that Vista needs high-end hardware to run adequately do not help Microsoft's cause, either.

Microsoft is now saying they were "little ambitious" in giving XP only a year to live.

Amid disappointing Vista uptake, Microsoft relents on XP execution [Ars Technica]
(Photo:TheNik)

We are sorry to inform you that your GrandCentral number (434) XXX-XXXX will need to be changed as of August 25, 2007. As part of our beta testing, we are continually evaluating different solutions and partners to create the best quality service possible. Unfortunately, a very small number of users have been assigned numbers that are not performing to our quality standards and are being replaced with higher quality services. To ease the transition to a new number, we have already added (434) YYY-YYYY as a replacement number to your account. Both of these numbers will ring your GrandCentral account until the 25th of August, at which point only the (434) YYY-YYYY number will remain active. Your login and everything else regarding your account will remain the same, including all your settings, voicemails, and contacts. If you have any questions or would like to request a different number, please reply to this email and we'll do our best to accomodate you.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope you continue to enjoy the GrandCentral service.

Sincerely,

Craig Walker & Vincent Paquet
GrandCentral Founders

We have recommended GrandCentral before, and we use it ourselves; but for Google to change user's phone numbers without consent defeats the entire purpose of GrandCentral.